The instant invention relates to eating utensils and more particularly to a disposable utensil rest for supporting one or more utensils on a supporting surface and to a combination wherein the utensil rest detachably assembled with a food container.
Heretofore it has been common practice in restaurants, such as sandwich shops and fast-food restaurants, to place eating utensils and the like directly on the surfaces of counter tops or table tops, both prior to and between periods of use. However, it has been found that this practice can often be relatively unsanitary, since it not only can cause eating utensils to become contaminated with bacteria and/or various foreign substances, but it also can cause counter tops and table tops to be unnecessarily soiled. As a result, it has been found that the practice of placing eating utensils directly on counter tops and/or table tops prior to and between periods of use can be unsatisfactory to many restaurant patrons, as well as to many restaurant owners and/or operators.
The device disclosed in the applicant's copending U.S. patent application #07/143,171 generally addresses the need to provide an effective device for supporting a set of eating utensils on a counter top or the like both prior to and between periods of use. However, it has more recently been found that there is also a need for an effective utensil rest which is adapted to be shipped and stored in assembled relation with a food container and thereafter disassembled from the food container prior to use. Hence, the device of the subject invention has been developed to meet this previously unfulfilled need.
Heretofore available devices which represent the closest prior art to the subject invention of which the applicant is aware are disclosed in the U.S. Pat. Nos. to Dodge #227,224; Moore #799,612; Fresh #1,264,914; Pickering #2,354,968; Lunde #2,567,817; Gray #2,615,318; Mullins #2,651,927; Lee #2,789,349; and Brown #D-196,133. However, since the devices disclosed in these references are not adapted to be assembled with food containers in the manner of the utensil rest of the subject invention, they are believed to be of only general interest with respect thereto.
The instant invention provides an effective utensil rest which is adapted to be stored and transported in assembled relation with a conventional food container of the general type utilized for containing solid, semi-solid, or liquid foods, including beverages, and thereafter disassembled from the food container prior to use. More specifically, the utensil rest of the instant invention comprises a bottom wall portion which is adapted to be received on a supporting surface and an upstanding peripheral sidewall portion which extends upwardly from the bottom wall portion terminating in an upper edge. A pair of spaced, upwardly opening peripheral notches are formed in the sidewall portion for receiving and supporting the blade portion of a table knife, and the sidewall portion and the bottom wall portion are dimensioned for supporting the eating end portion of an additional table utensil on the upper edge of the sidewall portion. The utensil rest is adapted to be constructed in various configurations, including circular, square, or various other multi-sided configurations, and the sidewall portion preferably extends substantially continuously around the entire perimeter of the base portion. The utensil rest can be adapted to be assembled on either the top end or the bottom end of a food container so that it can be effectively stored and transported in assembled relation therewith and thereafter disassembled from the container prior to use as a utensil rest. In this regard, the utensil rest can be effectively adapted to be assembled with a container having a recessed bottom end so that the utensil rest is removably received in an inverted disposition in the bottom end. When the utensil rest is adapted to be assembled with a food container in this manner, it preferably further comprises a tab which extends outwardly from the edge of the peripheral sidewall portion for facilitating the disassembly of the utensil rest from the food container. Alternatively, the utensil rest can be adapted to be removably received in an inverted disposition on the upper end of a food container, such as a drinking cup. In this regard, the utensil rest of the instant invention can either be adapted to be assembled over the open upper end of a food container so that it functions as a cover therefor, or it can be assembled over a cover or top on a food container so that it provides hygienic protection for the top or cover, but in either case it can be effectively stored and transported in connection with a food container and thereafter disassembled from the container for use as a utensil rest. When the utensil rest is adapted to be assembled on a food container so that it functions as a cover therefor, the sidewall portion of the utensil rest preferably includes an engagement portion which extends upwardly from the base portion when the base portion is received on the supporting surface, the engagement portion being adapted to be received in engagement with the upper edge portion of the container member, and a rest portion which extends upwardly from the engagement portion to the upper edge. When the utensil rest is constructed in this manner, the slots preferably preferably extend into the rest portion of the sidewall but not into the engagement portion thereof.
It has been found that the utensil rest of the instant invention can be effectively transported and stored in combination with a food container and thereafter disassembled from the container prior to use as a utensil rest. In this regard, the utensil rest can be effectively adapted to be assembled on either the top end of a food container or on the bottom end thereof, depending on the particular type of container, and when the utensil rest is assembled over the top of a container, such as a soft-drink can, it provides hygienic protection for the top of the can. The utensil rest is adapted to be made in various disposable constructions from materials such as cardboard or plastic, although it can also be embodied in reusable "chinaware" constructions. In any event, the utensil rest is adapted to be effectively disassembled from a container and utilized for supporting one or more eating utensils both prior to and between periods of use. Alternatively, after the utensil rest has been disassembled from a container, it can also be effectively utilized as a coaster for a cup or a drinking glass.
Accordingly, it is a primary object of the instant invention to provide an effective utensil rest for supporting one or more eating utensils.
Another object of the instant invention is to provide an effective utensil rest which can be transported and stored in combination with a food container and thereafter disassembled from the container for use as a utensil rest.
An even further object of the instant invention is to provide a utensil rest comprising a bottom wall portion and an upstanding peripheral sidewall portion having a pair of spaced notches therein wherein the utensil rest is adapted for receiving the blade portion of a table knife in the notches and for supporting the eating end portion of an additional eating utensil on the upper edge of the sidewall portion.